Oct 5, 2013 - 1 min read

Yasui Shrine

The resting place of Sanada Yukimura

By John Carter

Community writer

1 of 7

A statute that pays homage to "A Hero who may appear once in a hundred years"

Temizu (hand and mouth washing) at the entrance of the shrine

If you touch the bulls head and then your own you are said to gain wisdom

Kitsune and kitty; shrines seems like a popular place for cats to relax

The banner explains the anniversary of the Siege of Osaka will be in 2014

The main shrine is an exquisite building

Offerings made to what I believe is the final resting place of Sanada Yukimura who was nicknamed "Crimson Demon of War"

Staying at Toyo Hotel in Dobutsuenmae I chose to revisit the Uemachi Daichi area I’d previously visited before, as it is very close. Around a 15-minute walk I chose to take a different route to see what other historical sights I could discover. Walking down a small back street I found Yasui Shrine, an important relic in Osaka’s past. The shrine is supposedly the place where Sanada Yukimura was laid to rest after he died at the hands of Tokugawa Ieyasu’s forces during the siege of Osaka from 1614-1615. When walking up the daunting steps that lead to the shrine you’ll find banners flailing in the wind that state the 400th anniversary of the battle will start next year. The shrine is quite small but it’s history is incredible and well worth the visit. It’s a great place to start if you decide to walk the historic streets of Uemachi Daichi.

Was this article helpful?

Help us improve the site

Give Feedback

By John Carter

Community writer

Following Follow

Dan Takeda a year ago

The shrine is where Sanada Yukimura withdrew, gravely wounded in several places. The shrine is located north of Chausuyama and near Tennoji Park. Nishio Nizaemon Munetsugu, a teppo-ashigaru kumi-gashira (the equivalent of a lieutenant of an arquebus lightfoot detachment) from Matsudaira Tadanao’s unit found him. It is said that Yukimura-san stated his name and that he was too exhausted to keep fighting. He invited Munetsugu to cut off his head as a trophy, and removed his helmet. Some say his grave is in Zenmyosho-In in Ueda, while others say Tamura Sadahiro (who served under Katakura Kojuro Shigenaga) built Yukimura-san’s grave on Atago Mountain in the suburbs of Shiroishi City. It is possible that his remains were split and buried in more than one place.